I. INTRODUCTION
t=t! B
t=t
Yo ~ ~ t =to
pl~ B ~
P O ' ~ A
,oo.~~~,
Figure 2. Computation of Liapunov's
Characteristic Exponents
REVIEW OFCONCEPTSOFSTABILITY 55
di Pi P i
do po P -o 9
L = lim L
n
56 V SZEBEHELY
I dl
where L n - ~-~ E in ~--
n=T O
V dV X 3V
= :~-" i~-~ ~ 0
3. DICTIONARY OF STABILITY
Laplace st: all solutions stay in bounded regions of the phase space;
no collisions and no escapes for many-body problems
weak st: two different kinds of motion in the same neighborhood in the
phase space.
3
A qi A Pi = K = constant,
i=I
of the system-parameters. The region of phase space for which the type
of motion is the same represent a stable region. The region where the
motion changes qualitatively might be termed unstable.
Acknowledgements
This paper could not have been prepared without the contributions
and cooperation of my colleagues, co-workers and students who influ-
enced my work on stability for the last thirty years. Support received
from the National Science Foundation and from the University of Texas
to prepare this paper and to attend the Alexander von Humbolt Confer-
ence is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Arnold, V.I., Dokl. Akad. Nauk, SSR 137, 255, 1961; 138, 13, 1961; 142,
758, 1962; 145, 487, 1962. Also Usp. Mat. Nauk, 18, 13, 1963;
18, 91, 1963.
Prlgogine, I., "From Being to Becoming", W.H. Freeman and Company, San
Francisco, 1980.
64 V. SZEBEHELY
Roy, A.E., "Orbital Motion", Adam Hilger Ltd. Publ., Bristol, 1978.